Merrill freezes pay for all 65,000 staff

Merrill Lynch on Wednesday imposed a pay freeze on all its 65,000 workers until the middle of next year at the earliest in the latest move by the bank to cut costs.

Terry Kassel, global head of human resources, told managers via e-mail to inform staff of the decision. The freeze does not include bonuses, however, and will be reviewed in mid-2002.

Rival brokerage Morgan Stanley told 62,000 employees last week they would receive no pay rises next year. In October, it unveiled plans to cut 200 investment bankers, with more sackings expected.

The following month, Merrill revealed that more than 2,600 staff would take up its offer of voluntary redundancy, taking job cuts at the bank to 9,400 since last year's third-quarter results.

In the past fortnight, there have also been compulsory redundancies at the bank, which is believed to want to lose up to 7,500 more jobs as part of a plan introduced by Stan O'Neal, its new head.